Written in the past through the numerous churches and now school articles, if new information surfaced this writer would return to the previous article(s) written. Such is the case with the previous weeks article #13 - Harbor District. Sincere thank you is to be given to Mrs. Katha Root a resident of Harbor Road in Greene. She phoned the newspaper and she was contacted by me, Mrs. Root advised me that the Harbor District #13 schoolhouse is still standing, though it has been remodeled to a private dwelling and is hardly recognized as a former schoolhouse. She believes only one wall of the original building was used in the remodeling process. If one takes a ride in that vicinity, it is best to know exactly where this school now dwelling is located.
However is it now timely to move to the above district for yet another chapter of Greene school history! This district school would serve the many residents children of this area from 1830 until 1931 when the centralization battle began and as has been written before, Greene was one of the last districts in Chenango County to accept centralization. The location of this building which has been converted to a private dwelling is located approximately as the intersection of County Road #9 and the Palimter Road. If this writer’s calculations are incorrect and was determined from that area from the 1875 Atlas Map comparing it to the latest Chenango County map. What is not known is who erected the building, how much did it cost, where did the lumber come from? All these are yet another example of “mysteries of history.”
In the year of 1830 when this district was formed serving as Commissioners were Samuel Williams, Levi Farr and Augustus Willard. Inspectors were William Patterson Orrin Sharp and August Willard. Williard would go on to serve as Commissioner for a number of years as would Sharp, William D. Purple, Jehial Spafford, John Wheeler to name a few. By the year of 1921 a law was enacted to pay the commissioners a minimum weekly wage of $20.00.
In the research of the boundary lines of this district there was no information found, however the district lines would be changed many times, which was not uncommon with the Town of Greene. The following district line changes were researched and found: 1833 -the part of lots 9 and 70/TM as occupied by Alanson and George L. Bingham from District #15 to #14,1835 - house and lot of Jared Page from #20 to #14,1836 - farm of Daniel Osborne from #14 to #15, 1838 - farms now occupied by Daniel Osborne and Caleb Merrell from #14 to #15 (in 1825 these belonged to Ebenezer Everts and were changed from #15 to #14.) In 1839 the south half of 14/TM occupied by Richard Laskey from #14 to #15, and the final change in district lines that was researched was in 1843 the farm of Oliver D. Merrell from #15 to #14.
At the County Clerk’s office in Book #118 p. 413 in 1863 George and Mary Jane Roberts sold to Thomas B. Kelly, Darius Cooper, Sr. and Thomas VanNess as trustees of District #14 for the enormous sum of $25 part of lot 12/A lot 2 beginning in highway at northeast corner of lot, west 6 Yt rods, south 8 rods, east 6 1/2 rods to highway, north 8 rods to point of beginning (reserving that part conveyed to said district by Edward Roberts, June 22,1834), which is an addition to the site for a schoolhouse for the district now owned for that purpose by the district. The deed of Edward Roberts was not researched and if further investigation is found it might provide clues to part of the “mysteries of history.”
The photo which accompanies this article shows, taken in 1967, gives a faint inkling of a resemblance of a schoolhouse as the four windows on the side would indicate a former school building.
And now for the statistical information researched regarding this district. In the years that this school was in service to the district there would be a range of students from 91 in 1832 to a low of 24 in 1879. After the year of 1904 the student population was not found. Trustees serving this district would include Alvin Salisbury, George VanNess, Joshua Harrington, William Burrows, Patterson Day, Jared Page, Silas Bates, Chapin Jones, Wm. Salisbury, A. Salisbury, Darius Cooper, and Thomas VanNess. In the years of 1904 till the school closed trustees would include Frank Murtaugh, Roswell Lawson, John Cooper, Walter Winston, Ervie Harrington, Mason Hollenbeck, E. W. Drake, Burr Cooper and Leon Watrous to name a few.
The many teachers who served this district and usually it was only for one year were as follows starting with the year of 1874-5 and continuing to 1940-42 (apparently the school remained opened another ten years after the initial research gave the year 1931). Emeline Roberts (Merrell), Arthur Fowlston, Maud Collins (Duffy), EInora Lumbard, Fred Beach, Mable Miller, Minnie Brown (Reynolds), Inez Watrous, John Redmond, Russell Roberts, Grace Merell (Thorne), Phebe Written, Charlotte Smith (Cook), Genevieve Scott, Lula Hubbard (Finch), Ruth Dunning, Mary West (Jackson), Jessie Excell, Ruby Filer, lone Gates, Mrs. William Comstock (she would teach a number of years), Mildred Beers, Margaret Dewey, Frances Johnson, Eunice Whitmarsh, Mary Coughlin and finally in 1940-42 Genevieve Rowley.
A most sad occasion occurred on July 15,1941 when Francis Gardner, Trustee, sold at auction the school building to Ervie C. Harrington, of Page Brook, who made it into a dwelling. This was a two-story schoolhouse originally as the second floor having been built for the use of the Grange.
Thus we close yet another chapter in the “schools of the past” with the closing plea, if you have information or photos of the early school districts that you no longer need or want to keep, please pass it to the town historian, county historical society or e-mail information to news@evesun.com. It will be forwarded to the proper place if you so desire.